Thursday, March 28, 2024

Swell, swell, swell

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THE NOISE was like thunder; the huge swells rolled in like the opening sequence from Hawaii 5-0.
But it was not on the island’s East Coast.
It was the island’s platinum coast that was playing host to 14-feet and bigger swells yesterday afternoon.
From St James to St Peter, residents stood and gaped as waves that would cause a surfer to swoon in ecstasy pounded the West Coast.
There were dramatic scenes of waves crashing across the road; pounding the Speightstown jetty, leaving its barricades leaning; and throwing fist-sized rocks, with explosive force, into the car park of Jordan’s Supermarket while a man there struggled to remove them before they could damage vehicles.
And fishermen in the close-knit community of Six Men’s, St Peter, were taking no chances.
An all-out effort by the men was in full progress when a team from the WEEKEND NATION visited the area. They were removing the boats that were already on the beach to further safety.
“It might get worse tonight,” said one fisherman, “and there won’t be anyone here.”
He said the boats bobbing in the water might have to be taken to the marina for safety.
Pierre Spenard, a long-time resident of Speightstown, St Peter, was pacing the area behind Jordan’s Supermarket.
Surveying the damage, he said the conditions started around afternoon.
“I’ve never seen it this big,” he said, as he helped with a clean-up effort that was struggling to keep pace with the debris that was being tossed landside.
Workers in the area, who watched from a safe distance, noted they had never seen the water gush as high as it did yesterday.
Meanwhile, surfers were flocking to the West Coast, unwilling to let such an opportunity go a-begging.
Meteorologist at the Government Meteorological Service, David Best, explained the conditions were due to a low pressure system in the north eastern Atlantic near the south west Azores.
“It is generating some huge swells that are affecting the area,” he said.
“Our expectations are that the conditions will last, that is at least conservatively, for another 48 hours,” he added.
Best, however, warned sea bathers and operators of boats to be extremely careful, and said a warning had been issued for above normal sea swells.

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